On May 3rd, Modern Estates hosted, "Facts, Fun, & Secrets," at the opulent McCormick & Schmick's Rodeo Drive. The event featured guest speakers, Kelli Handi, Sales Manger for Modern Realty, and Marie Chung, Director/Broker of Modern Realty and Modern Estates. The event had over 60 real estate professionals from around LA County to hear Kelli and Marie speak about the new office that is just a few streets away from Rodeo Drive.

The event was entitled, "Facts, Fun, & Secrets," because:

• Fact- It highlighted the reasons why Modern Realty/Estates is opening a new office in Beverly Hills to capitalize on luxury foreclosure business.
• Fun- It gave attendees the chance to meet & greet with Director, Marie Chung, while enjoying wine and lite bites.
• Secret-Marie Chung gave an eloborate presentation that revealed a few tips and secrets to her success in the industry

Modern Realty is hosting another, "Facts, Fun & Secrets," event on June 7th, 2012 to promote our Orange County Office opening. The details for this event will be posted soon and will be for Agents ONLY

                                            Director/Broker- Marie Chung     

                                         Sales Manager-Kelli Handi                      

Writing a Successful Offer on REO and Short Sale Properties

Kinecta Federal Credit Union presented: Writing A Successful Offer On REO And Short Sale Properties in Kinecta FCU Operations Center last Tuesday.  Realtor, Vanessa Liddell, who specializes in Short Sale Training and Negotiating, partnered up with REO Director of Modern Realty Co, Marie Chung--to lead the seminar on educating the audience on how to successfully write an offer on REO and Short Sale properties. Seminar Topics included:

• Educating the client, and are they qualified?
• Picking the right properties...and which to avoid.
• Setting the Price: Know your market, know your property
• Learn how to submit offers using new REO technologies
• Learn why banks are "cracking down" on giving out combo codes

Marie Chung: Top Producers Panel at NAHREP Mega Event 2012

This year's NAHREP Chapter hosts it's annual mega event entitled, "Business Development Summit 2012." Their annual event will be held on Thursday, May 10th in Garden Grove, CA.  Mike Ferry, founder of The Mike Ferry Organization, will open the panel, then will be followed by Top REO & Short Sale Agent Panelists, including Marie Chung of Modern Realty Co. This event is expecting between 500-600 attendees and will be held from 8am-5pm. To learn more about NAHREP OC or to become a member, please visit their website: http://bit.ly/K66Uty

The main goal of HOPE 20^th Anniversary Opportunity Bus Tour is to tell the inspiring stories of how former struggling communities transitioned into successful communities filled with perspective and growth. Modern Realty Co is excited to be attending this event - celebrating an organization that operates for a great cause and supports the local communities of Los Angeles.

Marie Chung  had the honor of being a Guest Lecturer for the UCLA Anderson School School of Management. Marie attended the Kick-Off event on April 3rd, 2012 at the UCLA Anderson School of Management's Executive Dining Room that was filled with UCLA students eager to learn more about managing real estate. Professor David Ravetch-Director of UCLA Undergraduate Accounting, initiated the concept of a Personal Finance Course-the first of it's kind in this millennium at UCLA. This unique course will bring new vision of collaboration between the private sector and UCLA Anderson School. As a UCLA Alumni, this is one of Marie's personal dreams--to speak at her alma mater.

Marie Chung had the amazing opportunity to be one of the panelists for the Short Sale Symposium at Sea this past weekend. Marie, along with the great group of speakers, were asked challenging questions regarding their strategies with selling luxury homes and REOs. All of the speakers had great insight on how to effectively market their assets as well as their brand. Here are some great commentary from Marie herself:

Marie explains there are TWO  neccessary characteristics to possess in becoming a successful real estate professsional: Competence and Confidence.

• When selling any home, it is critical that you identify who your buyer will be. Will this be a cash buyer, FHA buyer, conventional buyer?  
• Treat every luxury asset as a customized market plan. Every home is different, and every home has its own unique features. Make those features known to your buyers. That's how you take your own customized marketing approach. Highlight the great features, but don't neccessarily omit the aspects that can be portrayed as negative.

Insight on Selling a Luxury Property:

• Know the market that your property is listed in: this includes the buyers and cooperating agents that will help you sell that asset
• Know the vendors, designers, stagers, or anyone that will help you market this asset
• Remember, you are selling a service. Provide the BEST service to all of your clients (as well as your property).

"Staging" a Property:

• Look at "staging" as one of your best investments when you are marketng a luxury property.
• Promote your property, and continue to use that in your future presentations. Good publicity is necessary to promote your luxury assets.
• Provide additional services to these luxury homes without expecting reimbursement. I.e, lawn service, cleaning service, high-quality brochures, virtual video tours, etc.

Social Media

• Social Media is amazing. You can reach out to local, out of state, and even international communities through various social networks.

There are no costs to using Social Media, except for one thing...your time.

If you would like more information on this event, please visit their website: http://bit.ly/zJzi1s

Marie Chung was honored to be chosen as one of the speakers for the NAHREP Event last Thursday. The event was hosted by Tom Ferry, NAHREP-LA, and Women's Council of Realtors at The Grand in Long Beach, CA. With an excellent turnout of over 800 people, Marie and her fellow speakers had plenty of questions to answer and advice to give. Here are some tips from the speakers that attended last week's event:

All of the speakers at the NAHREP Event emphasized one key concept when it came to building their business: Relationships and networking are very important

• One speaker pointed out that joining networks are great for your brand and your business. When you attend networking events, you are able to meet with people face-to-face and interact with them directly. Follow up with them via email.
• Don't wait for your clients to ask you to do something. Rather, be the first one to initiate it and do it right the first time. Be as efficient and accurate as possible.

Question for Marie: How do you get new accounts today and what are the mistakes you avoid?

Marie's Answer:

1) Maintain the relationships you build: Not just with asset managers, and banks, and companies, but also with with REO brokers across the nation.

2) Know what your client's needs are. Don't be afraid to ask them questions and clarify information.

3) Be a part of an organization. You will have the opportunity to attend their events. It's a great way to network and meet people in a light social setting. Asset Managers are there to network with you too.

4) Be consistent with your follow-ups and be considerate of their time. Avoid being too aggressive.

5) Most importantly: Be a consistent and considerate real estate professional.

A picture of the 800+ guests that attended the event